Waffle House denies patron's claims of injury by ‘exploding’ plates

What started as a casual Waffle House lunch with a coworker ended with hearing damage and a shard of glass lodged in a man’s ear, a lawsuit against the Norcross-based restaurant chain alleges.

Waffle House believes it has video evidence that contradicts this claim, spokesperson Kelly Thrasher-Bruner said.

Larry Graham, of DeKalb County, was dining at a Waffle House in Roswell in March 2015 when an “explosion” occurred in the restaurant’s kitchen, the lawsuit says. Hot plates that had just come out of the sanitizer were sprayed with cold water, causing them to explode, with shards of glass flying through the air, according to the suit.

Graham alleges that this caused a piece of a broken plate to lodge in his ear, that he suffered hearing loss because of the explosion and that he pulled a muscle in his arm while reacting to the explosion.

Waffle House says its video shows Graham returning from the restroom when a plate was dropped in the food prep area.

“At no time was he close to the area where the plate was dropped,” Thrasher-Bruner said in an email. “In addition, the video shows he had no sudden reaction that would be expected if he had been hit by a piece of the plate when it was dropped.”

Graham is suing for medical expenses that exceed $10,000, lost wages more than $100, pain and suffering, mental anguish and other related expenses.